Episode 008: Celebrating International Women's Day with Chipo Chikomo, Days for Girls Country Director in Zimbabwe

The Days for Girls Podcast

Chipo Chikomo is an award-winning DfG Social Entrepreneur, businesswoman and innovator whose work is revolutionizing the menstrual health space in Zimbabwe. She is passionate about

providing truly sustainable, locally-led solutions to period poverty - and empowering women and girls with the menstrual products, education and technical skills they need to thrive. She is the brilliant mind behind Nhanga Trust (meaning “girl’s bedroom” in the local Shona language): an Enterprise that trains women in underserved communities to sew and distribute DFG pads, tackling period poverty while earning an income for their families.

Chipo’s story is a testament to the power of resilience and forging your own path forward, no matter what obstacles stand in your way. In this episode, she shares what inspired her to partner with Days for Girls, the challenges faced by Zimbabwean menstruators, the ins and outs of running a trailblazing social enterprise and her vision for the future. Tune in for your weekly dose of inspiration – just in time for International Women’s Day!

Highlights:

• How winning the Obama Administration’s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in 2016 led Chipo to Days for Girls
• What first inspired her to tackle period poverty in Zimbabwe: her experience working in a rural, underserved community after college
• The importance of sustainable menstrual health solutions that include comprehensive education and skills training – not just product distributions
• The challenges of being an innovator in this space: how she has stayed focused and grounded throughout challenges and doubt from friends/family
• All about the Nhanga Trust Enterprise, including key partnerships
• Her vision for the next 10 years: reaching every menstruator in Zimbabwe, becoming a household name, developing capacity for humanitarian relief in other countries, and more!

Connect:

· Email: [e-mail]

· LinkedIn: Chipo Chikomo

· Facebook: @NhangaTrust

· Twitter: @nhangatrust

Bio

Chipo Chikomo is a leading social entrepreneur whose vision is to revolutionize the feminine hygiene industry. Chipo not only wants to ensure that women and girls have access to sustainable menstrual health products, but are empowered with the technical expertise to manufacture them locally. Her quest to empower women and girls drove her to start an organization/Enterprise called Nhanga Trust, which in the Shona language means the ‘girls bedroom’. Her passion for empowering women and girls to be the drivers of their destiny led her to partner with Days for Girls International in training underserved women to make reusable sanitary kits for rural school girls.

Chipo received a full scholarship in Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (2013) from the Kanthari Institute in India, an institute founded by the world renowned Sabriye Tenberken (a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee). In 2015, she was the only female amongst five USADF grant competition winners in Zimbabwe. Most notably, Chipo was part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2016: a flagship program started by the former President Barack Obama. She has also participated in the Business and Entrepreneurship track at the University of Iowa in the United States.

Chipo holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Psychology and Sociology from Africa University and is featured on the university website along with other platforms like the 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary Newsletter (2017). In 2018, she was one of the Green Innovation Youth winners in

Support the show

Please support us at daysforgirls.org